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Black and White Pastors Swap Pulpits To Promote Racial Unity

These guys are amazing: Initiative Network. God’s using them to accomplish some great things–among them–a black and a white pastor swap pulpits.

DALLAS — From a disturbing fraternity chant to protests over the police shootings of black teens,tensions have flared recently over race relations in America.

But on Palm Sunday, two Dallas pastors from opposite sides of the city found a new way to deliver a powerful message to their congregations.

They traded pulpits for a day, preaching to the other’s church.

Read the rest of the story. (USA TODAY)

If you’re interested in learning about the people God’s using to accomplish this sort of thing, check out this video from InitiativeNetwork.org.

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 Posted on August 20, 2015 by

 News

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The Grace/Truth Equation: John 1:14

Grace/Truth Equation

Never Bored Again

I was talking with a thirty-something last night and he and I both concluded we never feel bored. Maybe that’s not surprising. There’s Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. There’s podcasts, blogs, and Google searches. There are 300 hours of new video uploaded to Youtube–every minute, more than 150,000 new Reddit posts and submissions each day, and at the bottom of every Google News category there’s a link that says, “More Sci/Tech stories,” or “More Sports stories,” or “More U.S. stories,” or “More World stories.”

More.

There’s more amazing information available to occupy our attention than ever before. (And I haven’t even touched on TV, music, movies, and video games.)

I love living at this point in the time-space continuum where we can have such an incredible amount of information available to us. I love doing research. I love checking out Youtube videos, articles, and subreddits in my areas of interest. But there’s a catch. Read More

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 Posted on August 15, 2015 by

 Bible Study, John

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Unlikely by Kevin Palau: A Book Review

Unlikely by Kevin PalauSome of you might be offended by this book review. If you find yourself beginning to lean in that direction I hope and pray you’ll read the entire article and, more importantly, read Kevin Palau’s book, Unlikely. I’m convinced God’s Holy Spirit is behind this movement.

Palau’s Purpose

Palau’s purpose in writing this book is to tell the amazing story of what God is doing in and around the city of Portland, Oregon. God does amazing things in many cities, but His work in Portland is evidence He can do what He wants, when He wants, wherever He wants. Because Portland is weird (and they like it that way). Portland is a place where 8,000, many of whom are naked, cycle through the streets to remind people of the positive impact cycling has on the environment. Read More

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 Posted on August 8, 2015 by

 Bible Study, How Jesus Loved People - How You Can Too

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“All they had was the real, living presence of Jesus Christ…”

Speaking of the early church in the Roman Empire, Kevin Palau writes:

“All they had was the real, living presence of Jesus Christ himself–living in them through the Holy Spirit, giving them what they needed to bear witness and radically love in ways the world could not explain.” From Palau’s book Unlikely)

Unlikely is one of the most important books I’ve read in years. It’s just what I needed to hear. You might have the same reaction: Unlikely: Setting Aside Our Differences to Live Out the Gospel

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 Posted on August 6, 2015 by

 Bible Commentary

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Why Women Are More Amazing Than Men (And what women have in common with Jesus Christ): John 1:11-13

what women and Jesus have in common

“He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:11-13

Women Are More Amazing Than Men

Women are amazing, aren’t they? I mean, they have an ability no man has. They have the ability to Read More

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 Posted on August 1, 2015 by

 Bible Study, John

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Every day that goes by I’m less impressed

Every day that goes by I’m less impressed with me, and more impressed with Jesus.

8/1/15 Edit: So after finishing the blog post for Saturday, August 1, 2015, I just googled this statement to see if anyone else might have said something similar. And I noticed that I misspelled Jesus’ name. (It’s now corrected.)

Now I’m even less impressed.

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 Posted on July 30, 2015 by

 Bible Commentary

Joseph’s 5 Steps to Avoid Temptation: Genesis 39:6-23

how to resist temptation

(Tied for the most popular post of 2014 so far, from the archives)

Read Genesis 39:6-23

Genesis 39:6-23

I don’t know what Joseph’s early responsibilities were when he first began at Potiphar’s house, but they may have been intensely physical, because Joseph was ripped (“well built” verse six tells us). He was also a good looking guy. And because of this, Joseph’s master’s wife notices him, and begins to proposition him, without much in the way of subtlety either.

“Come to bed with me!” she says to him. Read More

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 Posted on July 25, 2015 by

 Bible Study, Genesis, I Wish Someone Had Told Me This When I Was Young

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Rejected: John 1:9-12

Why doesn't God reveal Himself

The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, (John 1:9-12)

Rejected

When I was 9 years old I lived just south of Chicago, at 14910 South Kenton St., in Midlothian, Illinois. Somehow all the other kids on that street rejected me. They unanimously decided to exclude me from all their games and group activities. It was pretty bad. The level of hostility was pretty high. One time they even Read More

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 Posted on July 18, 2015 by

 Bible Study, John

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About The Light: John 1:6-8

witness about the light

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. John 1:6-8

The Most Inclusive Of All Religions

John the Apostle wrote those words about John the Baptist. God sent John the Baptist so all might believe through him. All–everyone–every single human being. That’s what God wants. And He went to extreme lengths to make that possible. He sent the Light, His own Son, to die on your behalf. Unlike other religions, it doesn’t matter who you are or what you’ve done. It’s not dependent on the works you do or the depth of your meditative state. Christianity is the most inclusive of all religions. Anyone, anyone at all, can receive the Light who is Jesus Christ. “This is the work of God,” Jesus said, “that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

“…that all might believe,” that is God’s heart.

But as you read the scripture at the top of this post you might be saying to yourself, Read More

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 Posted on July 11, 2015 by

 Bible Study, John

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The Light Of Men: John 1:4-5

light of men John 1:4-5

The Life And The Light

In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:4-5

Napoleon Bonaparte And Jesus

Have you ever heard what Napoleon Bonaparte said about Jesus? Toward the end of his life Bonaparte was living in exile on St. Helena, a remote island in the South Atlantic. It was there that he said to his friend General Bertrand: “I know men and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between Him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison.”

Many believe Bonaparte converted to Christianity while living in exile on that island. Bonaparte recognized that Jesus is more than a man. “In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

Hello Darkness My Old Friend

“Hello darkness my old friend” Simon and Garfunkel sang in the seventies. There’s darkness in your life. I know there is because Read More

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 Posted on July 4, 2015 by

 Bible Study, John

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The 1 Way We Can Learn God’s Mind And Heart: John 1:1-3

know God's mindIn The Beginning Was The Word

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. John 1:1-3

The Exact Representation of God’s Nature

In the beginning was the Word. The Word with a capital W. The Word is logos in the Greek and it means a thought. The capital W means the Word is divine. The Word is what John calls Jesus in the first verse of the gospel of John. In other words, Jesus The Word is the expression of God’s thoughts. Jesus is a living expression of God’s mind. Or as the writer of Hebrews tells us, Jesus is the exact representation of His nature. (Hebrews 1:3)

When Philip said to Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus answered,“Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:8-21)

The God We Can’t Understand

And we’re so immensely blessed by Jesus’ incarnation. Think this through with me: If you believe Read More

 2 Comments

 Posted on June 27, 2015 by

 Bible Study, John, Seeker

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Myra Thompson, a relative of one of the Charleston shooting victims said this:

Myra Thompson, a relative of one of the Charleston shooting victims:

“I forgive him and my family forgives him. But we would like him to take this opportunity to repent” and “give your life to the one who matters most: Christ.”

.

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References:

Powerful Words of Forgiveness, Washington Post, June 19, 2015

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 Posted on June 24, 2015 by

 Bible Study, News, Suffering

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